Digital Health Start-Ups Team Up to Tackle Bottleneck in Research

With seven to ten million people needed for Alzheimer’s registries to meet planned clinical trial enrollment requirements, this initiative marks a new way to match researchers with the worried well and those living with Alzheimer’s disease.

WASHINGTON, DC – Two companies dedicated to empowering people living with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers, and those worried about getting the disease, today announced a unique partnership with GALAXY, an online portal that offers mobile tools and resources that make it easy for patients to influence and participate in Alzheimer’s disease research. Roobrik, whose online decision tools help patients and their families make difficult care choices, is launching a new assessment to help GALAXY visitors answer the question, “Is clinical research right for us?” Antidote, a digital health startup that connects patients and researchers to help accelerate medical research, will provide people visiting GALAXY with the opportunity to find clinical trials that are right for them, quickly and easily.

More than 80 percent of trials are currently delayed or closed because researchers cannot find eligible patients. This problem is especially pronounced in Alzheimer’s disease where seven to ten million people are needed for registries to meet planned clinical trial enrollment requirements. Research has found that only one-third of Alzheimer’s trials in a given year are able to find enough people to take part. Yet, in the words of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg, “The actions taken to date have not been commensurate with the growing threat presented by Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a cancer-sized challenge requiring a cancer-sized solution.” The partnership between GALAXY, Roobrik, and Antidote aims to meet this challenge head-on.

“We see the inclusion of Antidote and Roobrik on the GALAXY platform as a critical solution and way to fast-track the process of recruiting the right patient for the right trial,” said Meryl Comer, Co-Principal Investigator of PCORI’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patient and Caregiver Powered Research Network (AD-PCPRN) and President/CEO of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative.

Antidote Match™, which uses natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and an army of medical annotators to make it easier than ever before for people to find their best clinical trial matches, is now integrated into the GALAXY portal. This means that for the first time, patients visiting GALAXY will be able to use Roobrik’s brief assessment to navigate difficult questions around taking part in Alzheimer’s research and then use Antidote to identify the trials that are right for them.

“With so many patients needed to take part in Alzheimer’s trials, now is the perfect time to focus on transforming the way patients find, understand, and take part in clinical trials,” said Pablo Graiver, CEO of Antidote. “As we work with GALAXY to spread our search tool far and wide, we encourage any interested organization to contact us to learn more about how we can work together to stem the tide of the Alzheimer’s epidemic.”

“Every decision to take part in clinical research for Alzheimer’s starts with small concerns: a repeated story or lost set of keys,” said Nate O’Keefe, co-founder and CEO of Roobrik. “Our partnership with GALAXY and Antidote enables us to reach older adults and caregivers in these moments, help them understand their situation, and guide them to what works best for them, whether that’s signing up to join a registry or finding a clinical trial.”

This is just the beginning. Data gathered during the first year of this collaboration will be used to support initiatives across the public and private sector to increase clinical research participation. This includes Antidote’s expansion to make its search tool available at no cost to all Alzheimer’s organizations, patient communities, and online health portals, GALAXY’s continued work to give patients a voice in Alzheimer’s research, and Roobrik’s ongoing mission to make getting informed the easiest part of family decisions around Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

###About Alzheimer’s Disease
Not only is Alzheimer’s Disease the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, but it’s the least understood and on the rise. In fact, if the prevalence continues to rise at the current rate, by mid-century, it is estimated that someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds. There is a critical need to develop new, effective treatments, and these potential breakthroughs are being evaluated in clinical trials every day. But an influx of new studies means an estimated 7 to 10 million people are needed for registries to carry out currently planned studies. As more trials are added, the need for patients to participate will continue to grow.

About GALAXY
GALAXY is a virtual gateway to a constellation of initiatives that makes it easy for patients to influence and participate in Alzheimer’s disease research. It showcases private/public partnerships and projects, supported through non-profit collaboration, that focus on modeling new online ways to support those living with AD and their families. GALAXY, while a distinct initiative, shares the 3-year goals of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patient and Caregiver Powered Research Network (AD-PCPRN) to amplify the patient and caregiver voice to accelerate development of effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. www.galaxybraintrust.org.

About Antidote
Antidote is a digital health company on a mission. Their aim is to accelerate the breakthroughs of new treatments by bridging the gap between medical research and the people who need them. In a world where 80% of clinical trials are delayed or closed due to lack of awareness, Antidote uses cutting-edge technology to match the right patients with the right trials, helping medical researchers make faster progress, and offering new treatment options to patients in need. Antidote was launched as TrialReach in 2010, and is based in the US and UK. This is a global effort to advance health care for everyone. To find out how you can help shape medical history, visit http://www.antidote.me.

About Roobrik
Roobrik builds online tools to help people make difficult health and care decisions, particularly for issues related to getting older and caregiving. Their innovative platform combines medical decision science with new models for digital engagement to help families get answers throughout the continuum of care. Roobrik works with health care, senior care, and clinical research organizations committed to informed decision‐making for its potential to improve health, emotional, and financial outcomes. To find out more about Roobrik’s decision tools, visit https://www.roobrik.com.